Fit Tip: Balance Out Your Quadriceps Strength and Your Knees Will Love You!

Photo Credit

The quadriceps are the large muscle group that run down the front of your thigh. They are responsible for straightening (extending) your knee joint, bending (flexing) your hip joint and are the primary power source for movements like walking, running, squatting and cycling. Targeting all four of the quadriceps muscles in a balanced way is essential to facilitate optimal knee health.

The four quadriceps muscles are:

- Rectus Femoris

- Vastus Medialis

- Vastus Lateralis

- Vastus Intermedius

At The Dailey Method, quadriceps exercises (aka thigh work!) are primarily done using eccentric contraction – lengthening and contracting the muscles at the same time by maintaining a deep knee bend and working in a small range of motion. The one exception to this is Dailey Method “single leg lifts”. This exercise is incorporated to give specific attention to vastus medialis by working with a straight leg. Vastus medialis is the smallest of the quadriceps muscles and is often weak (especially in women and runners). Training students to access and strengthen this muscle has long reaching health benefits –improving knee alignment and helping to heal and prevent knee problems. Additionally, our thigh work always includes parallel and turned out variations to effectively strengthen all of the quadriceps muscles and create balance in your physique.

The turned out variations primarily target the lateral quadriceps muscle (vastus lateralis). This muscle is crucial for both power and tone of the quadriceps and it is the strongest of your four quadriceps muscles. During turned out work, you will often hear your Dailey Method teacher remind you to maintain inner thigh engagement as you move. An example of this is pressing your heels together in athletic V - which travels up to maintain inner thigh support. This helps to provide resistance for the strong vastus lateralis to work against and ensures proper tracking for your knees.

Parallel variations primarily target the center of the thigh (rectus femoris & vastus intermedius) and the more medial portion of the quadriceps (vastus medialis). In addition to the quadriceps muscles, thigh work that includes squeezing a ball between your thighs adds work for the inner thigh muscles (adductors).

Finally, including the back body support for the knees is a huge part of creating balanced strength for the joints as well. Your hamstrings are the back body support for your knees and exercises like squats or lunges are great examples of work that uses the quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteals together to support the knees and hips. In each thigh work segment of a Dailey Method class you will find at least one exercise that incorporates this back body focus.

We take your joint health very seriously! By focusing on your alignment and helping you to create the balanced musculature to support your proper alignment we will help you create a longer, leaner, stronger physique. The next time you are lunging, thigh dancing or waterskiing away at your local TDM studio – enjoy the fabulous music and put a big smile on your face knowing that you are creating a healthier body that will help you do all the things you love for many years to come.

With love and lubricated knees,

-- Jill & Kerry

Tips for Staying #happyfit all Summer Long

Photo credit

Now that summer is here (kids out of school…yay?), many of us have upcoming travels and a shift from consistent schedules to those that interrupt our health and exercise routines. Here are a few tips to help keep you #happyfit during the crazy days of summer.

1. Make time for yourself

Whether we’re on vacation or at home, it is so important for our well being to take a few moments out of the day just for ourselves. Whether this means waking up 10 minutes early or taking a quick bath at night, try to carve a few self-moments out of every day. Putting the kids in front of a 30-minute TV show and locking myself in my room for a power nap or meditation is my personal quickie. Your body will thank you for it, and I am sure those around you will too.

2. Even a little exercise is better than none

When we are off our normal routine or out of our regular environment, it is easy to think “I don’t have an hour to work out.” But even 10-20 minutes of exercise is better than none. This was my primary motivator in designing the Dailey Now DVD, which has shorter class options that you can combine or do alone.

My go-to if I’m in a pinch and just need to do SOMETHING is:

Forearm plank - as long as I can hold

20 push-ups

3 minutes of high c-curve

2 minutes of thigh work (WTO is a good one without a barre but I prefer thigh dancing!)

1 minute of back dancing

Savasana

This is less than 10 minutes, always makes me feel better and gives me more energy.

3. Go with the flow

Set expectations to have no expectations. When we travel or shift into a new routine, it is easy to set expectations, but more often than not, we become disappointed or frustrated when things do not work out as expected. So, instead of defining how you want something to be, try just to let it be. This is easier said than done for some of us but if we don’t have a rigid expectation of how something ‘should’ be, then we are bound to handle the chaos (and there will be chaos) with a bit more grace and ease.

4. Moderation is key

Temptations are endless, especially when we are away from home. Life is not meant to be perfect, it is meant to be lived; so allow yourself indulgences, but do so with thoughtful moderation. Have a healthy breakfast if you know you’re going to have chips, guacamole and margaritas later in the day. Wake-up to a green juice after a night of ‘one too many’. And try to drink lots of water, which will keep you healthfully hydrated and feeling full. Balance is key to staying both happy and fit.

5.  Simplify

Sometimes the thought of packing for 4 or 5 is so overwhelming for me that I almost want to forego the trip. I consistently attempt to pack lighter, but it takes more thought and preparation - read some of the benefits of lightening your load here. But your job will be simpler by asking for help (this has not always been easy for me but it’s amazing how the more I do it the easier it is). I have a friend that has a packing list for each kid written out. If you take the time to do that, you can have your sitter pack the items or have your children pull out their own clothes so you just have to check against the list. If the planning of a party or another event is overwhelming, ask friends or family to pitch in with something they are good at - not only will it take something off your plate, but it makes us feel needed to help each other out which is incredibly gratifying for so many people… win-win for all!!

I wish you the funnest (officially a Webster Dictionary word), healthiest, and happiest summer…. wherever it takes you!

-- Jill

June Word of the Month: Align

We talk about The Dailey Method as a physical practice and a “life practice” – but what does that really mean? It means that many of the things we practice in The Dailey Method are the same things we can practice in life – that small, intentional changes made in a class can trigger BIG shifts in our bodies and our lives. A practice that is integral (balanced, interconnected, whole) is a practice that supports a more balanced, easeful and joyful body and life.

Our TDM Alignment Principles serve as guidelines for an integral practice, and our seasoned students know that the first thing we always do is “ALIGN” – we can take this literally to be about first placing our bones in the proper positions but we can also take it deeper to mean that we begin with intention of the mind, and we practice inside-out of both mind and body. One way to do that is to use mindfulness, which is awareness and intentional presence or focus. When we combine that with physical alignment, it gives us that full mind-body practice. Here are three simple steps to help you align during your Dailey Method practice: 

- Arrive – use warm-up and the beginning of class to fully “arrive” in the moment and practice presence (we spend a lot of our lives not really paying attention to things as we are doing them, and therefore are not really “here”)

- Notice – Notice your BODY: What does your body feel like today? What feels good in your body? What feels not so great? Observe your body and notice it talking to you. Notice your THOUGHTS:  Your brain is like a machine; it never stops producing thoughts (like a running tape) – without trying to control them, notice your thoughts and just notice if they are helpful thoughts, or not. Notice your EMOTIONS: Again, don’t try to control them, just notice emotions that may be present. Bring awareness to them. Your body, thoughts and emotions collectively are the energy that you are “bringing” to your Dailey Method practice (and to your life) – notice what you’re bringing.  

- Begin with Intention – Once you are present and aware, you are ready to begin. We practice inside-out, so first begin with your innermost self:  Set an intention, dedication or focus for your practice each day. Make it simple, own it, and keep coming back to it. After you’ve got your “innermost self” aligned, take your inside-out practice to the next level and align your bones! Our skeleton is the architecture of our body, like the framework of a building…  Let your TDM teachers help you learn how to align your bones optimally – and as you learn how this looks and feels in class, try to carry your practice with you and align your bones throughout your day. 

As you practice this month, remember to ALIGN is to: 1) Arrive, 2) Notice, and 3) Begin with Intention. We do this every class, every exercise, and every new moment in class.  And as we get better at this in the studio, we get better at it in life.

In July and August we’ll focus on “ENGAGE” and “MOVE” to continue practicing our Dailey Method alignment principles circle.

For now, happy aligning! 

-- Jill and Lorna